The Gamer: Storybrooke
by Joshua The Evil Guy
Summary: Henry Mills is a very special person, and not just for having the Heart of the Truest Believer. He comes to possess a power the likes of which no one in Storybrooke has ever seen before, a power that could prove to be without limits.
1. Level 1

Title: The Gamer of Storybrooke

Author: Joshua The Evil Guy

Disclaimer: Once Upon A Time, and all associated characters, are owned by ABC, and by proxy, Disney. I am not a part of the Disney family, so I have no ownership of anything really. Certain key elements from—though no characters—are inspired by the Korean Manhwa " _The Gamer_ ", though I'll do my best to put a OUaT spin on things to keep it interesting. As I stand to gain no profit from this, am already in debt and have no money to speak of, you'd be wasting your time trying to sue me over this, so please enjoy it in the same spirit in which it was written.

Summary: Henry Mills is a very special person, and not just for having the Heart of the Truest Believer. He comes to possess a power the likes of which no one in Storybrooke has ever seen before, a power that could prove to be without limits.

Timeline: Post Season 3, but beyond that, I'm sort of making this AU, as there will be no conforming to the TV show's events beyond mentioning or talking about past events. The Curse was cast a second time by Snow and Charming, pretty much ALL of the Enchanted Forest is now in Storybrooke, including Robin Hood. Emma did go back in time and bring back Marion, but Elsa and the Snow Queen and everything surrounding that is resolved and has been for a few weeks at least. Future storylines and plots and villains and characters may be included at some point, but for now, consider this to be during a 'downtime' in Storybrooke, when there is no crisis to deal with.

AN: Henry's "power" is The Gamer Ability, and as with Han Jee Han, there is no 'guiding force', just random stuff that he has to figure out as he goes. A lot will be the same, more will be different. Levels, Titles, Names, and the Stats, Inventory, Skills Window, and Observe/Inspect _will_ be the same. Quests, Enemies, the actual Skills, Magic/Mana/etc, and Party System will be different. ID Create/Escape will be the same as far as a Skill, but the explanation behind it will be different. This may apply to other aspects as well.

OC: Henry seriously needs a Best Friend, and I am somewhat appalled at the show's writers that they have overlooked this plot device, and how they make it seem like Henry's best friend is his therapist, Archie. Only other 'kids' his age that have definitely been on the show is Wendy, Hansel and Gretel, and the Mad Hatter's daughter, who only ever had like a single speaking part on a single episode. Henry's best friend in this story is an Original Character by the name of Jack Thatcher, whose family is the OUaT version of every story where a poor tailor or whatnot used wits and cleverness to complete the task and save the day and get the Princess... minus that last part as they own the Clothing/Tailor shop on Main Street, but train and test themselves daily. Jack has been Henry's best friends since he and Emma came back for the Wicked Witch.

AN+: Leveling in this story is NOT going to be a Mathematical exercise! Next Lvl Numbers, if I ever show them at all, are going to be displayed as Percentages rather than an actual listing of EXP points. Occasionally I may list the number of EXP Points Henry obtained for completing some Quest or defeating an enemy, but in the end he'll Level Up when it suits the story for him to Level Up, no matter what tasks he's undertaking at the time.

Level One:

 _Wouldn't it be great if Life was a game?_

Henry Mills had no clue who said that first, but it got said a lot in recent years, that much he did know. How good would it be, if there were levels above people's heads and to be able to gain experience and raise your stats the way you want and if there were a Save Game option and the power to reset reality? A few days ago, Henry probably would have agreed that it would be pretty awesome, but experience had taught him to be cautious.

Magic always comes with a price, and something like that could only be magic, right?

Now if he were asked that question, his answer would be clear and delivered without any hesitation.

No, it really wouldn't.

 _*PING*_

[Sleeping in a bed has restored all your HP and MP]

 _*PING_ *

[Sleeping in a bed has restored all of your status effects.]

Groaning, Henry reached out and closed the transparent blue-hued notice windows that had popped up—quite literally—right in his face. Shaking off the last of his sleep, he mumbled to himself, "This thing pops up every single morning. Gotta find out what is going on with me..."

It had been going on for a few weeks now, though he couldn't say when specifically. Although, if he had to guess, it probably happened about the same time that he and his Mom broke the second curse and brought everyone's memories back again, his own included. Except...

Henry stopped and looked at his reflection in the mirror. There, right above his head, initially reversed, or reflected, were words and numbers. Words and numbers that he now saw over everybody's heads, with their Storybrooke names, sometimes their Fairy Tale names, and various numbers preceded by the word [Level]. A moment of concentration, or focus rather, and the words over his own head turned themselves around so he could read them in the mirror.

[Henry Mills]

 _The Gamer_

– Level 4 –

Shaking his head, Henry turned away from the mirror and started getting ready for the day. Since moving back to Storybrooke from New York City, he'd rejoined his class at school, in the middle of his Sophomore year of High School. Initially he and his Mom... er, Emma, had been living out of Granny's Bed&Breakfast, and then back in Snow and Charming's apartment after the second curse had been broken. That lasted about a week, and while he'd done his best to help Emma in finding a new place to live, she'd insisted that he didn't need to 'wait on her' as it were, and he'd moved back into his old room at his Mom's house. Regina's house. The Mills home.

As he was making his way downstairs to the kitchen, he heard a sound that he was starting to dread. It was something between a bell and an electronic beep, which to him sounded like.

* _PING_ *

He groaned as an Alert window popped up right in front of him as he heard his mom call out, "Henry! Breakfast is ready! Be down here and ready for school in five minutes!" Regina Mills shouted from downstairs.

[Quest Alert: Prepare for school and have breakfast with family. Time Limit 5 min.]

At the bottom, as with all quest alerts, was the question "Do you accept?" and a 'Yes' or 'No' button. Thus far, he had yet to see what would happen if he selected 'No', but unfortunately all these quests he'd been getting, contrary to most gaming systems, gave him very little in way of Exp.

"Coming Mom!" he called down, already collecting his books and backpack.

Contemplating his situation as he made his way down the stairs to breakfast, Henry thought about telling somebody, anybody about what was going on with him, only to dismiss it out of hand in the next second. So far, everything could be attributed to some elaborate hallucination or illusion. In the case of the former, he was at the standard age where people get diagnosed with schizophrenia and other mental diseases when hallucinations were a standard symptom. In the case of the latter, well, nothing had actually harmed him and he had no proof or evidence so raising a fuss about somebody casting a 'video game illusion' on him wouldn't accomplish anything.

So, for now, he kept quiet about it.

The whole thing was counter-intuitive as it was. In most RPG games, completing quests and missions was the _primary_ way of gaining Exp, or Experience Points, and fighting monsters and such was secondary, giving very little unless it was a Boss Monster or part of a quest to kill said monsters/enemies. But the one 'enemy' that Henry had faced thus far, a 'High School Bully – Gordon Goose', had given him ten times the amount of Exp that day's quest had given him for beating him. Then again said enemy's level was two higher than Henry's at the time, so that might have something to do with it. Thus, Henry was sure the only way he could truly level up was to find and conquer a bunch of video game monsters, which in real life, he had no idea what they might be.

And even then, what were the chances that he would even be allowed to fight them if they were that common? Thus far, the only real adventure he'd been on, he'd been kidnapped and tricked into 'sacrificing' himself by his great-grandfather, Peter Pan.

Maybe that was why he'd gotten this... special ability all of a sudden. Thus far he'd been regulated to the 'rescued' and the 'helpless victim', even when he'd tried to contribute in the past, it had only been as inspiration or to help convince those that ended up being the heroes. Maybe... maybe now was his time to be the hero, and this whole video game thing was meant to help him in some way? He just wished he knew how.

"There you are," Regina said as he made his way into the kitchen. "You are almost late, Henry. You barely have time to eat breakfast before you have to meet Emma so she can take you to school."

"Something going on, Mom?" he asked. "I know I haven't been much help on Operation Mongoose lately, but…"

"No, no, that's fine," Regina shrugged off his apology. "I know how busy you've been with school and everything. And… I'm coping. Taking things one day at a time. But after dealing with the Snow Queen, Emma feels that I've been hogging you to myself. So you'll be spending the day with her."

Henry suddenly grinned as he devoured his breakfast. Between bites, he asked, "And what will you be doing while I'm hanging out with Emma?"

Not hearing a reply, he looked up and turned to face his adopted mother for the first time this morning. Though he'd seen it before, it tended to be an unwanted reminder so he'd been subconsciously avoiding looking at people above the neckline ever since this thing had started. This time, it drew his eye in as she wasn't really looking at him at the moment, so he read;

[Regina Mills]

 _The Evil Queen_

 _{Mother/Mayor}_

– Level ? –

He really hated seeing that name there right below that of the woman that raised him. Doing his best to ignore it, he observed her flushed cheeks, how she wouldn't meet his gaze, and how her hands seemed to fidget and trying to be both busy and still at the same time. Quickly deducing this behavior from what he was familiar with of his mom's normal behavior, he asked with a knowing grin, "By any chance, spending time with Robin Hood?"

Her face turned as red as he'd ever seen it, and he felt a strong sense of accomplishment that he could see through her as well as he could. "That is none of your business, young man. Now, finish your breakfast. You're running late."

Henry started to laugh out loud, but choked on it as a new window popped up in front of him.

 _*PING*_

[A Special Skill Has Been Created Through A Special Act. Through continuous observation, a skill to find target's information, "Observe" has been created. By using "Observe" you can learn more about people and your environment.]

That… was new.

He'd _created_ a Special Skill? That's like an RPG character suddenly discovering how to fly or use the _Kamehameha_ in the middle of a mission. He'd thought for a while there that he'd have to try and trick his family and friends to 'teach' him some special abilities, but… wait.

"Observe?" he said aloud, still looking at his mom as she finished cleaning up. A new window appeared in front of his face, though from his perspective it was right next to his mom as he read it.

[Regina Mills]

 _The Evil Queen_

Level: ?

HP: ?

MP: ?

\- Regina was once known as the Evil Queen of the Enchanted Forest. Since the arrival of the Savior, she has been on a slow, hard road to redemption. She is a powerful magic-user, trained by the Dark One. Being the Mayor of Storybrooke grants her some influential buffs, while being Mother to Henry Mills grants her other more personal buffs.

' _Whoa_ ,' Henry thought, stunned at what he'd just "Observed". And that was it at level one, what would it be able to tell him when he increased the skill's level? On the other hand, minus the part about the buffs, it was all stuff he already knew about. It did, however, raise his curiosity as to what everyone else's stats were like. He knew from leveling up what his own were like, but the numbers were all below 10, which was somewhat depressing, even after he'd leveled up twice now.

The front doorbell rang.

"Henry, that will be Emma," Regina said. "Now, have a good day. Study hard. Here's your lunch, and if Emma or Miss Blanchard try and take you out for lunch, just make sure not to spoil your dinner."

Grinning, Henry grabbed his stuff and replied. "Y'know, most people have taken to calling her Mrs. White now. I think you're the only one that still calls her that."

From the evil grin she shot him, he knew that she was fully aware of what she was doing and just how much it annoyed his biological grandmother.

"Have a nice date with Robin Hood," he called over his shoulder as he left.

 _*PING*_

[Tempting Fate By Teasing The Evil Queen. LUK Increased by 1]

That just made him smile all the wider.

Then his mind was taken off of that and put toward more important things, by finally having a chance to [Observe] his other mom, and getting his first clue as to what had happened to him.

[Emma Swan]

 _The Savior of Storybrooke_

 _{Sheriff}_

– Level ? –

HP: ?

MP: (∞) - Infinite Mana

\- Emma is the Savior and the product of True Love, a rare occurrence that was further enhanced by her participation in a prophecy granting her an infinite amount of mana. Her ancestry and status has made her a Natural Ability User, a trait that she has passed on to her offspring. Her Title as the Sheriff grants her an unknown buff.

Henry almost tripped over his own feet as he read the information from the window. _Natural Ability User? What is that?_

"Hey Kid, you OK?" Emma asked when he'd stumbled off the front steps of his mansion home.

"Yeah, I'm good," he quickly assured her. "So, how are things on the crisis front?"

"Quiet, for now," she said with relief. "Things are finally starting to get back to normal around here."

"I'm pretty sure that being in the middle of a crisis _is_ normal for this town. At least since you broke the curse," he said.

"Ugh, don't remind me," she muttered. "Let's just enjoy the quiet while it lasts, OK?"

"Sounds good to me," he agreed.

They got in her yellow bug and were soon on their way to the school.

"So," he broached as carefully as he could, "how go the magic lessons? I know that you have full control over your magic now, but there's always more to it than just control, right?"

"What has you so interested in how my magic lessons are going, all of a sudden?" she asked, smiling.

He imagined she was relieved that he didn't harbor any resentment or fear over the time when she _hadn't_ had control over her magic. Still, he doubted that she would exactly understand if he tried to explain about his own burgeoning abilities, so he held back while sticking as close to the truth as he could. Sometimes having a mom with a superpower sucked, especially if that superpower was a built-in lie-detector!

"Well, I'm kind of curious if I could have some magic of my own," he answered. "I mean, you didn't even discover yours until you were almost thirty. I was wondering, if it is inherited, if I started learning early, then maybe I won't, y'know…" he trailed off.

"Have the same issues with control that I did," she finished for him, nodding her head. "Well, you're right that there is more than just having control to it. I can use magic to do just about anything. If I imagine and focus on it, it happens. Spells and stuff are… harder, but I figure them out eventually. Willing magic to do what I want, like that fireworks show I put on display before, that is easier but more draining. Like… OK, we both know David… Dad has been teaching you to use a sword. Know the difference between just making those practice swings and doing them step by step, and then just flailing the sword at anything that moves?"

He'd learned that lesson very early on. While it could sometimes be a drain to focus on making precise movements with a blade, just swinging it wherever drained his energy more than focusing on his footing and how his arms were moving ever could. He nodded his head, indicating his understanding.

"Well, spells require more focus, but they don't take as much energy as just throwing magic at the problem would," she explained. "But, at the same time…"

"Magic always comes with a price," he recited.

She nodded with a grimace.

"So far, I've tried to avoid doing anything too big, and Regina has explained to me what constitutes a 'price' for each type of magic. Bigger the magic, bigger the price. For the small stuff that I do, switching spells, conjuration, fire, lightning, fireworks, that is just throwing energy around. The price to that is that it drains my own energy, my… mana, which takes time to recharge, limiting how much of it I can do. If I were to start using potions or trying to control people or mess with everyone's lives, then I'd be looking at a kharmic price. But for straight up energy control, only price to pay is my own stamina."

' _Which is infinite,_ ' he realized with a startled blink.

Whispering under his breath, he called up his own "Status".

Name: [Henry Mills]

Class: _The Gamer_

Level: 4

HP: 400

MP: 250

STR: 6

VIT: 5

DEX: 4

INT: 7

WIS: 5

LUK: 2

Point: 20

Money: $53.29

He had mana, or MP, which, theoretically meant he had magic. He just couldn't use it because he didn't have any Special Skills that used MP. Or did he…?

"Skills," he sub-vocalized, pulling a whole new window with a grid of icons in it. Touching each icon pulled up another sub-menu that identified and described what the icon represented. Going through them, as subtly as he could, with ever growing excitement, he read through his current list of Skills.

Gamer's Mind - Lvl MAX - Allows user to calmly and logically think things through. Allows peaceful state of mind. Immunity to psychological status effects.

Gamer's Body - Lvl MAX - Grants a body that allows for the user to live the real world like a game. Sleeping in a bed restores HP, MP and all status effects.

Believer's Heart - Lvl MAX - Bearing the Heart of the Truest Believer is a heavy burden, especially when no one else believes. Your belief in the Truth is unwavering and absolutely nothing can corrupt your spirit. Passive - Immune to corrupting influences and manipulations. Active - (percentage) chance based on current level to convince another to switch to your moral alignment. (Current: 0.4% chance)

Observe - Lvl 1 - Through continuous observation, a skill to observe objects, situations, and persons was generated allowing the user to quickly gather information. The higher the skill, the great the data obtained.

Physical Endurance - Lvl 2 - The body's durability increases, allowing for less damage taken. 1.5% less damage

OK, so, not a lot, but interesting nevertheless. He was kind of curious as to why none of his actual skills, things he'd learned over the years weren't listed. Unless of course it just meant that he hadn't used those skills since this… ability, or whatever activated, and it hadn't yet managed to create a version of its own yet. Or maybe he just wasn't as skilled as he thought. Come to think of it, he hadn't practiced his fencing in quite a while, so maybe he was just out of practice?

Regardless, he was starting to figure this out. Unfortunately he didn't have any magic or MP-using skills yet, but that was just a matter of time and with a bit of imagination he was sure he'd be able to figure this stuff out eventually.

Now, if only he had a baseline, some way to judge his own progress and compare it against. Unfortunately, every member of his family were too high level, he saw nothing but ? on their levels, and he suspected the same would be true of his new Observe skill based on what he'd seen from both his Moms.

"What has you so quiet all of a sudden?" Emma asked, breaking the silence that had settled in the car.

"I've got… stuff on my mind," he answered as truthfully as he could.

"Stuff, huh?" she asked, intrigued. "Girls stuff?"

"What?!" he squeaked. "No! Mom, no! Just… nothing like that!"

"C'mon Kid," she teased him. "I'm pretty sure you are old enough. And I saved some of my best stuff to partner with Regina on in the Talk."

"Oh god, is the ride almost over? Please?" he begged the universe.

"Relax," she patted his arm. Then she gave him that look of parental concern, and said, "But in all seriousness, you do know you can come to any of us if something is really bothering you? No matter what else we're dealing with at the moment, we'll always make time for you, you know that right?"

"Yeah, I do," he answered sincerely.

"So…?" she lead.

"I… it's nothing bad, or important, I just, I don't know," he muttered. "I just have to figure it out a bit more first. Once I know more, or enough, I'll come to you and Mom, I promise."

"All right," she acknowledged. "Fair enough. You'll probably talk to Jack more about this, am I right? Just don't let him talk you into any trouble. You may be the Sheriff's and Mayor's kid, but that just means you get into twice as much trouble as everybody else's kids."

"Got it," he grinned. She pulled over and let him out.

"Have a good day, Kid!" she called as he waved back at her, before driving off.

Only after the yellow bug had disappeared around the corner, out of sight, did Henry hear said just behind him, "Momma's boy."

"Seamstress," Henry shot back with only a glance over his shoulder.

"Pansy!"

"Jackass!"

"Princess!"

"Zeppo!"

They both stopped walking and turned to face one another, scowls on their faces, which after a lengthy pause slowly morphed into wide grins. They slapped their arms and hands together in their own unique handshake-greeting before verbally doing the same.

"Hey Henry," Jack Thatcher said to his best friend. "How are things?"

"Hey Jack," Henry replied to his likewise best friend. "Not bad. Getting interesting. How's your training going? Your mom still threatening to take you out of school?"

Smiling, Henry took the time to glance up and [Observe] his friend while he was distracted with answering.

[Jack Thatcher]

 _Lucky Rogue Apprentice_

Level: 19

HP: 2015

MP: 1000

\- Jack Thatcher is the youngest, and latest, heir to a grand tradition of the Enchanted Forest. The Thatchers are a clan of 'rogues', the stories based on lucky thieves and down-on-their-luck beggars and tailors that heroically defeated or dealt with impossible quests and overwhelming odds were all based on the Thatcher clan. Jack is the youngest son and the next generation of 'Lucky Rogue' heroes.

"Can I just say, for like the thousandth time, how glad I am that everybody knows about that now?" Jack said with a relieved sigh. "I remember the excuses I had to come up with all the time with just about everybody. Can you believe I once blamed Ruby of eating my homework?"

"Yeah, what actually happened to that?" Henry asked, recalling the incident.

"A bear," was the only reply.

Henry stared for a second, before responding, "Funny. I thought for sure you'd say a mountain lion or bobcat."

"Mountain lion was when I made the excuse about a freak twister/hurricane," Jack said with a grin.

"How is it that you get to have so much cooler adventures than I do? I've been to Neverland for crying out loud!" Henry exclaimed.

"Half our class was raised in Neverland," Jack argued back. "Speaking of…"

"No," he nipped the question in the bud. "I haven't heard from Wendy. And no, we didn't meet or hook up or anything during my year outside of Storybrooke."

"Shame," Jack laughed.

By this time they reached their classroom and casual conversation came to a halt as class began a few minutes later. Despite plenty of distractions with casting [Observe] at everything and everyone around him, Henry made sure to pay attention and complete his classwork as it was assigned. Considering what he'd just discovered that morning with his Skills and Status windows, he was curious about other 'Game Features' that he might have as part of this… ability of his. For one thing, did he have an Inventory?

Turns out, he did. As well as an Equipment screen. There was even a _Menu_ for crying out loud! Unfortunately there didn't seem to be any 'Save Game' or 'Load Game' options. Rather, it was laid out like the menu one might see on a MMORPG game system rather than a console game. That opened upon possibilities that Henry really didn't want to go into for the time being. After testing out his Inventory and even the Equipment window (using his backpack and school uniform jacket as experiments), he instead sought to level up the one skill that he'd discovered thus far that wouldn't require any noticeable effects. As far as he could tell, each time he used a skill, depending if it was a one shot or an ongoing use, he got at least 0.5 % exp for the skill. Sometimes more, sometimes not, but always at least that much. So, after about a hundred and fifty uses of his new skill, he got an alert, sometime around school letting out, telling him that he'd leveled up his [Observe] skill to Level 2. The difference between level 1 and level 2 didn't seem that great to him, except the descriptions offered a little more detail and he got something about the target's mood (if a person), or if it was important or not (if an object). This only spurred him on to continue leveling up this skill as much as he could.

That and maybe trying to discover/create new skills. Maybe he could try and get his Moms to actually give him a brief magic lesson, just something simple and low level. And not necessarily destructive magic, perhaps the best way to get them to teach him anything at all was to stress that he wanted to learn defensive or protective magic?

Not to mention, there were skills that Henry knew and had learned beforehand, such as how to use a sword, and yet weren't among his listed Skills. So, seeking to level up as much as he could, and the best way to do that in video games? Quests.

Well, Quests and Monster Hunting, but since there weren't any Flying Monkeys or Snow Beasts running around, and there was no longer a crisis at hand, Henry decided to just go with what he had available to him. Speaking of which, he was best friends with the Lucky Rogue Apprentice, who maybe had a few skills of his own that could be shared with the Savior's son?

First step, he had to see about practicing what he already knew and see if he could create some Skills from that!

So, right after school, Henry went and grabbed the old training swords his grandpa had gotten for him a few years back, and made his way to the training ground they'd constructed during the time that Snow and Emma were trapped in the Enchanted Forest, right after the Curse had been broken. Then, with dedication and paying close attention to every detail of his movements, Henry began working his way, step by step, through the moves and motions of swordplay that Prince Charming had taught him.

Half an hour later, after walking through every move he knew, and working up quite the sweat as he did so, Henry finally got an alert.

PING!

[A Special Skill Has Been Created Through A Special Act. Through dedicated practice, a skill to handle blades, "Basic Swordsmanship" has been created. By using "Basic Swordsmanship" you can wield and use any type of blade. Passive: Increase Damage with blade weapons by 0.2%]

"Woohoo! Oh yeah! Woosh! Shazam! I am da man! Yo!" he crowed, leaping and carrying on a bit. Halfway through his victory celebration, he got another alert.

PING!

[A Special Skill Has Been Created Through A Special Act. "Fools Act" Words and actions that make the enemy doubt the mental state of the user. It could possibly confuse the target. Effect: Has a 1% chance to confuse the target for 2 seconds.]

Henry stopped his celebration and if it were even possible, felt he could sweat-dropped on the spot. Did this power of his seriously just give him a Skill based on that?

"OK, now how to actually get some kind of magic skill," Henry said to himself, quickly moving on from the quirkiness of his power. "I could try and start where Mom did. Both my moms apparently. Thing is, don't have a candle, and I definitely don't want to start a forest fire. So what else is there?"

Hoping to get some idea of strategy or inspiration, he opened up his status window and looked over his stats. "Hm," he mused aloud, "I've got twenty points. It must mean skill points. Not exactly a lot, and I haven't seen any floating balls of light or anything to indicate that I'll be picking up random skill points just by wandering around. So, obviously that means that I got those from leveling up. Which means… I've gotten five skill points per level? That seems kind of random. I wonder if there is something I can do to get more…"

He put his finger on the window, mostly just to help him keep track of everything on it as he considered his options, and then suddenly another window popped up when he actually touched the Stats window. Specifically, the INT on the Stats window.

[INT - Attribute having to do with character's Intelligence. MP increases by one percent every 10 INT points. Mana Control increases by one percent every 10 INT points.]

Blinking in surprise at the information, he quickly went through and checked each of the other attributes in the Stats window.

[STR - Attribute having to do with character's Physical Strength. Power in Battle for both attack and defense is affected by STR level.]

[VIT - Attribute having to do with character's Vitality and Health. HP increases by one percent every 10 VIT points. HP Regeneration increases by 1% every 10 VIT points.]

[DEX - Attribute having to do with character's Dexterity and Agility. Ability to evade attacks and maneuver past enemy defenses is affected by DEX level.]

[WIS - Attribute having to do with character's Wisdom. Magic Resistance increases by 1% every 10 WIS points. Mana Regeneration increases by 1% every 10 WIS points.]

[LUK - Attribute having to do with character's Luck, both good and bad. Critical Hit chance increased by 1% every 10 LUK points.]

"This is so broken," Henry stated as he looked over the mechanics and did some quick math. A quick experiment with him raising and lowering the number of his stats showed how he could spend his points, and that any changes he made would have to be confirmed before they took effect. Also, the points could not be taken away once applied. So the question then became, "How should I spend my points?"

STR: 6

VIT: 5

DEX: 4

INT: 7

WIS: 5

LUK: 2

They weren't the most impressive stats, and then there was the fact that he'd raised his LUK just that morning. Which meant that he didn't have to spend points to raise his attributes. But it also meant that his LUK was at a 1 before today. If it meant that he'd have actual good luck, he'd be tempted to raise that as high as he could, but since it only seemed to affect Critical Hits, he'd hold off and just let it raise normally. Besides, if all it took was teasing people like the Evil Queen or the Dark One, well, then he was probably the only person in Storybrooke, if not all of existence, that had an easy way to level up his LUK.

STR was tempting for more than just a few reasons. But again, it boiled down only really affecting his role in a fight. VIT would mean he probably wouldn't have to worry about being hurt or dying too quickly by giving him lots of HP, same with INT and his MP, once they both got high enough that is. DEX sounded interesting, and could take care of that tripping over his own feet thing he had going on, but it was no more impressive than having high WIS and LUK. And what good was MP regeneration if he didn't have any spells to use them up with?

Until he knew better about what kind of game character he wanted to be, Henry decided to hold off on spending his accumulated points. Instead, he turned his attention back towards acquiring more skills. Approaching the nearby sparing post, Henry raised his practice sword and started swinging and chopping at the rope-bound-wood as hard as he could. Another half an hour later, he got a new alert.

PING!

[A Special Skill Has Been Created Through A Special Act. A skill that allows the user to strike the target with a strong force. "Power Strike"

(Active) Lvl 1 Exp: 0.0%

15% increase in Critical Rate

50% increase in Attack Damage]

Grinning, Henry said to himself, "Now _that_ is what I'm talking about! [ _Power Strike_ ]!" he cried as he lashed out with the practice sword against the training post. It actually cut into one of the thick ropes and wedged into the wood of the post. When he couldn't immediately pull the blade free, he began to have second thoughts about holding off on raising his STR level.

Eventually, he did manage to remove it from where it was stuck, though this time he was more careful about where and what he struck with [Power Strike]. As with [Observe], it only gained a fractional amount of experience towards leveling up the Skill, though the few times that he actually managed to cleave all the way through whatever he was striking, he noted the exp increase was considerably higher. Still, it took him over a hundred uses to get [Power Strike] to level 2. Unfortunately, with only 250 MP, that meant that he could only use it about 50 times. After which, he had to sit around and wait for his MP to regenerate, tempting him to put points in WIS or INT. Fortunately, he didn't sit idle as he waited on his mana to come back, filling the time with simple exercises one learns in PE class. He wasn't sure what kind of skill such exercises would get him, and as it turned out there wasn't really a skill, but after the four and a half hours necessary for his MP to fill back up all the way, he got an alert informing him that his STR and VIT had been raised by one each. Although, that was only after about two hours. The latter half of the time he'd spend running and undergoing a self-made obstacle course, at the end of which he got an alert informing he'd raised his DEX and VIT by one each. He quickly caught on that by 'exercising' that which the attribute applied to, he could actually raise his stats on his own without having to spend his accumulated Skill Points.

By the time he left the training ground, it was well after nightfall, but thankfully not that late, and his stats were considerably improved. Looking them over as he walked home back to 108 Mifflin Street, he couldn't help the proud smile of accomplishment that settled across his face. Especially as he'd managed one more skill just before calling it quits for the night.

Name: [Henry Mills]

Class: _The Gamer_

Level: 4

HP: 400

MP: 250

STR: 7

VIT: 7

DEX: 5

INT: 7

WIS: 5

LUK: 2

Point: 20

Money: $53.29

Skills:

Gamer's Mind - Lvl MAX - Allows user to calmly and logically think things through. Allows peaceful state of mind. Immunity to psychological status effects.

Gamer's Body - Lvl MAX - Grants a body that allows for the user to live the real world like a game. Sleeping in a bed restores HP, MP and all status effects.

Believer's Heart - Lvl MAX - Bearing the Heart of the Truest Believer is a heavy burden, especially when no one else believes. Your belief in the Truth is unwavering and absolutely nothing can corrupt your spirit. Passive - Immune to corrupting influences and manipulations. Active - (percentage) chance based on current level to convince another to switch to your moral alignment. (Current: 0.4% chance)

Observe - Lvl 2 - Through continuous observation, a skill to observe objects, situations, and persons was generated allowing the user to quickly gather information. The higher the skill, the great the data obtained.

Physical Endurance - Lvl 4 - The body's durability increases, allowing for less damage taken. 3.0% less damage

Basic Swordsmanship - Lvl 3 - By using "Basic Swordsmanship" you can wield and use any type of blade. Passive: Increase Damage with blade weapons by 0.6%

Fool's Act - Lvl 1 - Words and actions that make the enemy doubt the mental state of the user. It could possibly confuse the target. Effect: Has a 1% chance to confuse the target for 2 seconds.

Power Strike - Lvl 2 - A skill that allows the user to strike the target with a strong force. (Active) 20% increase in Critical Rate. 75% increase in Attack Damage.

Power Block - Lvl 1 - A skill that allows the user to defend against a targeted attack. (Passive) .5% increase to Defense. (Active) 5% Chance to Successfully Block targeted attack. Block 20% of damage upon success.

It took him actually having set up a kind of batting cage, but with logs on hanging ropes, and trying to [Power Strike] them as they swung right at him. Once, using the last of his mana (literally), the practice sword slipped out of his hand, and thus having no way to attack, he raised his arms before him to defend, the mana still being triggered somehow, and thus rather than be knocked off his feet with hurt arms and probably a hefty chunk of his HP taken out, he merely slid back a couple inches while his arms flashed with magical power upon impact, and only a handful of HP points falling from his status bar. The log actually took the worst of it, actually bouncing back and chipping like he had successfully struck it with his [Power Strike]. Immediately after he got the notice about the new skill.

Unfortunately, he couldn't afford to sit around for another four hours, as it was a school night, and his family were worriers. If he disappeared for any length of time or missed a meeting or appointment or anything, then the whole town turned out to help in searching for him. It had only happened once, and he'd actually been kidnapped at the time, but he didn't want to be the boy who cried wolf in this town. So, he tossed his practice sword and other 'equipment' into his Inventory and started making his way back home.

It was as he was passing through downtown on his way back toward Mifflin Street that he finally took notice of the very different atmosphere infusing the night. There was a stillness in the air, the kind that can't be explained away by everybody and everything being asleep. Even the insects, crickets and cicadas, had ceased their noise. That, Henry slowly began to realize, or they weren't there to make noise in the first place.

Actually looking around, Henry tried to narrow down what had him so uneasy all of a sudden.

There was a noise.

Because of the silence all around, it seemed louder than a gunshot, despite only being the sound of somebody scuffing their shoes along the pavement of the road.

Turning, Henry raised his hand to greet whoever it was, he knew most everybody in town and vice versa, or so it seemed like most days. Only, instinct halted his hand and stifled his voice. The person, if it could be called that, was shuffling along, barely even lifting their feet, more like they were lurching forward by throwing their weight around. Even in the dim evening lighting, Henry could make out that this person had gray-green, pasty skin, their clothes were tattered and torn and filthy, and there was just something wrong with them in general.

The reason was soon more than evident; the person was a zombie.

A quick [Observe] confirmed it;

[Zombie Lvl 8

HP: 800/800 MP: 50

A walking corpse, no matter how it died. It hates the Living, attacking and eating its flesh. Though it's slow, its strength is twice as much as when it was alive.]

The only good thing about that, as far as Henry was concerned, was that he did not recognize the half-decayed-Very-Dead face of the person this zombie had used to be. It was twice his level, had way more HP than him, and while he had more MP, he very much doubted that spell casting would come into play. Then there was that description, about hating the Living and eating flesh? He sincerely doubted that his [Believer's Heart] would do much to help him out in this situation!

The young man instantly pulled his sword out of his Inventory and silently stood at the ready. He was a child of the times, and he knew that a 'lone' zombie was merely the front runner to the approaching horde. He also knew the best way to take out a zombie, and while he was excited and eager to be a 'hero' like the rest of his family, he was not stupid by any means. Moving as fast as he could, cursing that his MP was only a little over halfway full by this point, he made to strike the zombie's head with his practice sword, staying quiet and hoping not to make any noise that would attract the rest of them.

Even as he charged and swung his weapon with his full might, Henry was idly impressed at how calm and cool-minded he was being in the midst of this situation. Normally, while he might not go to full panic, he'd at least scream and run and try and call out for help. Now, he immediately recognized the zombie as a 'monster' and without even a second thought responded appropriately. By stabbing it in the eye and then trying to cut its ugly head off!

The eye-shot actually took out about a third of its HP, although it probably helped that it was a 'Critical' hit, the chance of which had probably been helped by his 'surprise attack'. The follow-up swing through its neck didn't do nearly as much damage, probably taking somewhere between fifty and a hundred points of damage, and really only cutting into the decayed muscles of its neck, rather than through them.

"Great," Henry grumbled, jumping back and narrowly dodging the retaliating swipes of the undead creature. He was really grateful for that extra point in DEX he'd managed to get all of a sudden.

Hesitant to waste precious MP when he could be close to being swarmed at any second, he grasped for the first thing to come to mind that might actually give him an edge at the moment. He'd deny it to any and all that ever tried to call him on it, but he was desperate!

"[Fool's Act]!" he activated the skill, and soon found himself dancing to a soundless showtoon while making sounds like Daffy Duck. Amazingly enough, the zombie stopped attacking and just stared at him, completely befuddled. Not wasting the opportunity, Henry immediately picked his sword back up and took careful aim while screaming, "[POWER STRIKE!]" The zombie's head went flying and it's HP dropped to nothing. Shortly after, it dissolved into dust, said dust blowing away in a airless wind, leaving behind a single, rotten tooth lying there on the pavement.

Breathing heavily, Henry listened intently to his surroundings, hoping that with that last attack combo he hadn't just doomed himself by drawing in tons more zombies. He was so tense and alert that he almost screamed out loud when a noise finally pierced the night. Fortunately, he restrained himself and the noise was one that only he could hear.

PING!

[Fools Act Has Leveled Up!

Lvl 2 - Words and actions that make the enemy doubt the mental state of the user. It could possibly confuse the target. Effect: Has a 2% chance to confuse the target for 4 seconds.]

PING!

[Power Strike Has Leveled Up!

Lvl 3 - A skill that allows the user to strike the target with a strong force. (Active) 25% increase in Critical Rate. 100% increase in Attack Damage.]

PING!

[You Have Leveled Up!]

Struggling to maintain control over his breathing, he dismissed the alert screens out of habit. His LUK may be 2, but he'd just gotten so incredibly lucky that it was not the least bit funny. Speaking of…

Almost in response to his thoughts, another alert popped up, one that had him catching his breath in his throat from the sheer shock of its message;

PING!

[Spitting in Murphy's Face by walking alone at night with zombies and nobody knows where you are.

LUK increased by 1.]

"I've really got to stop doing stuff like this," Henry said to himself, fully intending on taking fewer chances in the future.

PING!

[Stating the obvious and meaning it. WIS increased by 1.]

"I've got to get out of here and get back home," he said out loud, hopeful. Nothing happened. Sighing, he shrugged and instead refocused on his surroundings and then looked up at the sky. The starless, cloudless sky, filled with a red moon that was about five sizes too big. Knowing by now that something was definitely up, Henry made a desperate gamble, hoping that what little he knew about 'magic' would be enough to help him trigger his own power. It was all about emotions and focus.

Well, right now he was focused on getting _out_ of whatever crazy magic space this place was! He just wanted out and back to reality and he needed his magic to work just this once…!

A cracking sound began to echo out around him, looking up, he saw his upraised hands aglow and… and _cracks_ forming in the sky above him and then they spread to the space all around him, and then it suddenly burst all around him and there was the near-overwhelming sound of crashing and breaking glass, which faded as quickly as it came. Blinking his eyes, Henry saw that he was standing in the middle of Main Street, and there were people, real people walking around, and he could even see cars driving further down the road. The clock tower was still ticking away the time. All the sounds of the world came rushing in at once, reminding Henry of just how deathly quiet things had been moments ago.

PING!

[A Special Skill Has Been Created Through A Special Act. A skill to used to escape instant dungeons.

"ID Escape"

(Active) Lvl 1 Exp: 15.0%]

"In-instant… Instant _Dungeon_?!" he exclaimed.

Ignoring the looks he was getting, Henry dismissed the alert and then he took off running as fast as he could push himself for home, hoping to avoid any further surprises like that. Besides, a glance at the town clock showed that he was late enough as it was.

He made it through the door of the mansion just a few minutes before his curfew.

"Where have you been?!" Regina shouted the moment he was fully through the door. Emma (metaphorically speaking) magically appeared just behind him, effectively cornering him between his two mothers.

"You almost missed dinner," the Savior 'warned' him, arms crossed.

"Nobody knew where you've been since school let out!" the Evil Queen accused, hands on her hips. "Not even that… friend of yours. We were worried sick!"

"Especially after that… abbreviated conversation we had on the way to school this morning," the Sheriff added, uncrossing her arms and doing her best to mimic the Mayor's stance and posture.

"Why would you want to learn magic, Henry?!" she practically cried, worry and concern pouring out of her in waves that almost made him and his biological mother choke from the raw emotion. "You know all too well what it has done to this family. All branches of it! Now answer me, why would you want to learn magic?"

Henry had a decision to make. Tell his family the truth about what he knew, knowing that they probably knew even less than he did, or lie and stall and try to buy time to 'protect them' from what he'd just encountered. Yeah, he'd seen first hand what 'protecting' his loved ones by lying to them ultimately did. He'd hated it when all of them did it to him, and he knew that Emma hated it when it was done to her. Knowing everything or not, he couldn't keep something like this from them.

But still…

"You're not going to believe me," he told them. "I hardly believe it myself, and I'm living it!"

Now genuinely concerned rather than 'parenterally' concerned, Emma and Regina moved to stand side-by-side in front of their son, their expressions showing their empathy and love.

"Henry, what is it?" Emma asked.

"Apparently, and don't ask me how I know," Henry said, "you and I are something called 'Natural Ability Users'. It's not just magic, or maybe it is. I'm just figuring this out as I'm going along. It all started shortly after the second curse was broken. I've been… seeing things. Only, they're not illusions, and they're _not_ hallucinations!"

"All right," Emma acknowledged, nodding her head, seeing that he was telling the truth. "So, what kinds of things have you been seeing?"

Here, Henry almost clammed up for good. Seeing nothing but trust and love in their eyes, he took a deep breath, and decided to trust them in turn.

PING!

[Your WIS has increased by 1!]

OK, he silently mused, good decision then.

"Somehow, life has been turned into a video game. I see levels and names and titles and stuff floating above peoples heads. Sometimes I get these… alerts," he gestured at the window that he'd just closed, "that let me know about stuff or changes or, or even quests. And at first, that is all that it was. Some words and numbers and annoying little pop-up windows with meaningless messages. Until today."

"Why?" Regina asked, her tone as serious as he'd ever heard it. "What happened today?"

"Today I created a Skill, called [Observe]," he told them, absently noting that their windows came up beside them upon mentioning the command word. "Since then, I've discovered a whole bunch of new things."

"Observe?" Emma repeated, her head cocked at an intrigued angle. "You whispered that when you got in the car this morning. When you suddenly got real quiet…"

"Yeah, about that," Henry grinned. "Remember how you mentioned that the only downside to using your magic is that it drained your stamina, your mana?"

"Uh, yeah?" Emma replied, glancing back and forth between Henry and Regina.

"You have infinite mana, Mom. You won't ever run out and it replenishes the moment that you use it. You could literally do nothing but cast magic all day long and you'd never run out," he told her.

"And that part about being a natural user?" Regina asked, her eyes narrowing.

Henry read directly from the [Observe] window next to his blond mother. "Emma is the Savior and the product of True Love, a rare occurrence that was further enhanced by her participation in a prophecy granting her an infinite amount of mana. Her ancestry and status has made her a Natural Ability User, a trait that she has passed on to her offspring. Her Title as the Sheriff grants her a unique buff in regards to the citizens of Storybrooke."

They both blinked in surprise at that, glancing first at each other and then back at their son.

"Before you ask, I have no idea what a 'Natural Ability User' is, I just read it from the window that popped up when I used my [Observe] skill," he explained before they could ask anything further.

"And what do you see when you… observe me, Henry?" Regina asked, her tone indicating that she was dreading the answer almost as much as Henry dreaded giving it.

Sighing, and glancing apologetically at both of them, he read off, "Regina was once known as the Evil Queen of the Enchanted Forest. Since the arrival of the Savior, she has been on a slow, hard road to redemption. She is a powerful magic-user, trained by the Dark One. Being the Mayor of Storybrooke grants her some influential buffs toward any city official or employee of Storybrooke, while being Mother to Henry Mills grants her a plus five to WIS, a plus fifty percent chance in all interactions with all Light/Hero aligned individuals, a plus seventy-five percent in all positive interactions with Emma Swan and a minus seventy-five percent in all negative interactions with Emma Swan. Status Evolved from 'Adoptive Mother', further evolved from 'Adopted Step-Mother and 'Evil Step-Mother'."

Henry paused for a moment before continuing, "Y'know, it didn't actually say all that before. I guess I've leveled up my skill more than I thought."

"What the heck is that supposed to even mean, 'plus or minus seventy-five percent in interactions with me'? Towards what? And what even determines if our 'interactions' are positive or negative anyway?" Emma exclaimed.

"I'm sure I have no idea, Miss Swan," Regina answered with a tight expression on her face. Some might call it 'pinched', others that know the Evil Queen better than she knows herself could tell that she was embarrassed and struggling to contain her emotions. "Although, it is intriguing to note how one's 'relationships' and 'interactions' can be quantified in such a way."

"Moving on," Emma said, "What made you decide to share this all of a sudden, Henry? You've supposedly had this… ability for a couple weeks now, and creating Skills actually sounds like something pretty cool. If it was me, I'd probably be leveling up like crazy or something. So, and this is just a guess, but something happened, didn't it?"

"..." Henry stared at them both, a bit uneasy all of a sudden. Decision time; 'protect' them, or tell them the truth? And then maybe have it turn around and have them trying to 'protect' him later on.

"Before that," he said, his tone and expression as serious as it had ever been, "I need you to understand something. Whatever this is, whatever is going on, it is happening to _me_. So whatever your instincts, whatever we've done before, whatever happens next… I'm a part of it. No shutting me out, no 'protecting' me, and definitely no lying to me. All right?"

They both shot each other an uneasy look. Emma just shrugged, turning the decision over to Regina, the more experienced parent, but also the one more familiar with 'lying to Henry' if it came to that. Extremely uncomfortable, the dark-haired mother frowned, crossed her arms across her torso and finally spoke. "We'll talk about it."

" _We_ will talk about it," Henry agreed, by stressing the first word indicated an entirely different message.

"... Yeah," Emma added, hoping to defuse the situation. "We all will. But that is a two-way street, Kid. What are you holding back? What happened?"

"On my way back from… training," he shrugged, and they silently acknowledged what he really meant, "I… I came across a zombie. I know how it sounds, but for real, it was a zombie, walking down main street, and I… I killed it."

"You can't kill something that was already dead, Kid," Emma couldn't help snarkily remarking.

"That is not helping, Emma!" Regina said. "Are you alright, Henry?"

Both his mothers had moved closer to comfort him, and he didn't know how much he'd needed it until that moment. Surprisingly, at least to himself, he didn't feel overwhelmed or too emotional about what had happened. It was… it was like he'd seen it in a video game. A real life, live-action video game, but nothing like he felt it should be for what it was. Must be the [Gamer's Mind], he realized.

"I'm OK. I… had to take it out. First hand test of my new battle skills, but it wasn't too much trouble. Thankfully I managed to get away before any more showed up. There's something else going on. When I got away, it was through using a new skill that just happened on the fly. I didn't even try to do anything. Something called 'ID Escape', having to do with Instant Dungeons. What was really weird about it was how there were no sounds right before the zombie showed up, and the sky was a weird red color."

"Red? The sky was a different color?" his brunette mother exclaimed suddenly. "And there was no sound? As though… as though the rest of the world had been sealed off somehow?"

"Yeah," Henry immediately agreed. "What does it mean?"

"We need to talk to Blue," Regina snapped. "Now!"

PING!

[Quest Alert: Find the Blue Fairy! Time Limit: 1 Hour]

"Uh oh," Henry said.

"What?" they both asked him in unison.

"Quest alert," he read, "Find the Blue Fairy. Time limit… one hour."

"I really don't like time limits," Emma growled, pulling out her cell phone.

"We will deal with the particulars later," Regina snapped. "For now, I need to confirm something and the best way is with the fairies. And depending upon her answer… well, let's just say that my Happy Ending will have to take a backburner to what is coming."

"So… another crisis?" Henry asked, grinning.

"Yeah, looks like, Kid," Emma sighed. "So much for things staying quiet."

END Level One

Character Stats:

Name: [Henry Mills]

Class: _The Gamer_

Level: 5

HP: 450

MP: 275

STR: 8

VIT: 7

DEX: 5

INT: 8

WIS: 7

LUK: 3

Point: 25

Money: $68.79

Skills:

Gamer's Mind - Lvl MAX - Allows user to calmly and logically think things through. Allows peaceful state of mind. Immunity to psychological status effects.

Gamer's Body - Lvl MAX - Grants a body that allows for the user to live the real world like a game. Sleeping in a bed restores HP, MP and all status effects.

Believer's Heart - Lvl MAX - Bearing the Heart of the Truest Believer is a heavy burden, especially when no one else believes. Your belief in the Truth is unwavering and absolutely nothing can corrupt your spirit. Passive: Immune to corrupting influences and manipulations. Active : (percentage) chance based on current level to convince another to switch to your moral alignment. (Current: 0.4% chance)

Observe - Lvl 3 - Through continuous observation, a skill to observe objects, situations, and persons was generated allowing the user to quickly gather information. The higher the skill, the great the data obtained.

Physical Endurance - Lvl 4 - The body's durability increases, allowing for less damage taken. 3.0% less damage

Basic Swordsmanship - Lvl 3 - By using "Basic Swordsmanship" you can wield and use any type of blade. Passive: Increase Damage with blade weapons by 0.6%

Fool's Act - Lvl 2 - Words and actions that make the enemy doubt the mental state of the user. It could possibly confuse the target. Effect: Has a 2% chance to confuse the target for 4 seconds.

Power Strike - Lvl 3 - A skill that allows the user to strike the target with a strong force. (Active) 25% increase in Critical Rate. 100% increase in Attack Damage.

Power Block - Lvl 1 - A skill that allows the user to defend against a targeted attack. (Passive) .5% increase to Defense. (Active) 5% Chance to Successfully Block targeted attack. Block 20% of damage upon success.

ID Escape - Lvl 1 - A skill used to escape Instant Dungeons.

ID Create - Lvl 1 - A skill used to create Instant Dungeons. Current Dungeons Available: 'Empty'


	2. Level 2

Level Two:

Thankfully, in spite of Henry's point of view, the real world was not a video game, where random monsters, obstacles and puzzles magically appeared in the way of our heroes as they embarked upon their quest. Although, it was still _Storybrooke_ , so rather than run off looking for their objective the hard way, the Sheriff unilaterally decided to employ modern technology into their quest, and called Blue on her cell phone.

A quick two-minute conversation later, and they were all heading to Granny's Diner to meet the Mother Superior, aka Blue Fairy, and Henry was collecting the rewards and EXP from the Quest inside of fifteen minutes. Fortunately, it was a slow night at Granny's, and the only people around were ones that they all knew they could trust, whatever gossip may spread from this particular meeting, so they forewent any kind of secrecy or privacy for the conversation.

"What can you tell us about… what was it Henry?" were the first words out of Regina's mouth. Thankfully, the first words out of Emma's had been to thank the Blue Fairy for meeting them.

"Natural Ability User," he recited dutifully.

At the title, Blue tensed up, enough that practically everyone in the room could feel the tension.

"What is it?" Emma asked, suddenly concerned.

"Where did you hear about that?" Blue asked rather than answer.

"You first," the Mayor insisted. "What do you know?"

Blue actually tried to stare the reformed Evil Queen down at that challenge, but even Rumplestiltskin had occasionally flinched against the Evil Queen. Usually right before he rained fire and brimstone down upon her for daring to do so, but the Blue Fairy wasn't that sort, and they all knew it. She caved within seconds.

"To explain exactly what a Natural Ability User is, I need to explain why it is exactly that this world is known as the Realm Without Magic," she began, trying not to fidget in her seat at their attention.

"We're listening," Regina remarked, leaning back in her own seat, arms crossed. Emma and Henry, however, leaned forward, their chins in their hands as they listened to the Mother Superior's story.

"You've heard of the… Gaia Theory?" she asked them.

"Heard of," Emma confirmed. "Not really my cup of kool-ade, if you know what I mean?"

"It's true," the Blue Fairy informed them.

They all let that sit on the air for a minute or so, before the leader of the Fairies would continue.

""Yeah, well, I'm going to hold onto my 'skeptics card' if that's alright with everyone," Emma said to break the tension. "What does the whole planet being 'alive and aware' have to do with Natural Ability Users?"

"Natural Ability Users are individuals randomly given psychic powers by Gaia such as psychokinesis, teleportation, pyrokinesis and many others," she explained. "They possess the abilities from the moment they are born but it usually awakens later in life. The ability itself is usually determined by what is most special to the person. There are not many Natural Ability Users and most of them are strong although they can be differentiated into two types; what you might call Strong Starters, those that are extremely powerful from the moment they first recognize their Ability…" she trailed off as they all looked at Emma and recognized that the description fit her to a 'T'. She hadn't even realized she had magic, _Light Magic_ at that, until she was almost thirty years old, but she was more powerful than almost any other magic user—save for a rare handful—in all the lands, able to match even the Dark One on some levels. "...And then there are those that could be described as Late Bloomers who can grow without limits. Natural Ability Users can also train themselves which gives them Acquired Abilities as well as their original Natural Ability making them generally stronger than other supernatural ability users."

"Like witches, sorcerers, evil imps…" Emma couldn't help commenting. She shut up at Regina's glare, but then after a few seconds of heavy silence, she said, "...This is a lot bigger than what we usually deal with, isn't it?"

"Not necessarily," Regina was quick to caution against panic. "So far this is just knowledge, about you and Henry that we did not have before, but have now. It doesn't change anything else."

"What about that zombie I killed?" Henry whispered.

Blue did a double-take and repeated, a bit louder, "Zombie?"

Taking a deep breath, Regina explained everything (in fewer words) that Henry had already explained to them about his newfound Ability, and everything that he'd done with them so far.

"Which is what brings us to you," Regina concluded. "Emma and Henry are both these… _Natural Ability Users_ , and somehow Henry found himself in a world with a red moon that was _Storybrooke_ but _not_ Storybrooke, where he fought and destroyed what was by all appearances a zombie. Now if I didn't know any better, that sounded a lot like—"

"An Illusion Barrier," the Blue Fairy interrupted her. "I've heard about that sort of power, but not even the Dark One, _any_ of the Dark Ones, were ever able to make casual use of such powerful magic. But then, that is the other part of what makes Natural Ability Users so very powerful. _Gaia_ herself _makes_ Illusion Barriers for them. So that use of their powers do not affect the world… do not affect _her_ with their use. What you're saying is that…" she trailed off as she finally caught on to why the reformed Evil Queen was so distraught.

"That there is either another Natural Ability User," Regina finished the thought out loud, "or there is a magic user powerful enough to use magic to create Illusion Barriers on their own, _without_ the help of Gaia, in town. Let's hope it is the former."

"OK, first of all," Emma spoke up, " _What_ the heck is an illusion barrier? And secondly, why do we automatically assume that somebody else in town made the one that Henry found? Maybe Gaia, in her infinite, Mother Nature wisdom, saw Henry training and decided to give him something to actually train with?"

"It doesn't work like that," Regina shook her head.

"An Illusion Barrier is generally a space created for combat," Blue answered.

"What?" Henry asked, stunned.

"It's… complicated," Regina hesitated in saying.

"Recall how _Gaia_ gives supernatural powers to Natural Ability Users? There is a restriction," Blue said.

"Restriction?" Emma was the one to ask this time.

Blue nodded her head. "If a supernatural power that goes against the laws of physics—in short the laws of this Realm, is used to largely affect the world, Gaia tries to eliminate that Ability User. There are many examples throughout the history of this world how and why something like that is done, but the point is, this… _Interference Law_ is the very reason why this realm is known as the World Without Magic. Because the very world itself does not permit such public displays of magic or other supernatural powers."

"Whoa," Emma and Henry said in awed unison.

"Wait, so, an Illusion Barrier," Emma said, "if it's for combat, then why haven't all our fights here in Storybrooke been done in them? Come to think of it, why hasn't a giant comet come down and wiped out the whole town for using magic so openly?"

Blue and Regina shared a look, but it was Regina who explained it to the Savior.

"Emma, I don't think you understand, quite yet," she said. "Yes, Illusion Barriers are primarily used as combat spaces, but in truth they can be anything that you desire. Another name for 'Illusion Barrier' is 'Alternate Realm' or 'Pocket Dimension' if you want to get Sci-Fi about this. The reason why this is such high-level magic is because in _every realm_ _other_ than this one, casting the spell for an Illusion Barrier is the same as _creating a whole new world_! In short, Emma, Henry, Storybrooke is an Illusion Barrier! And what has us so concerned is the fact that whoever made that Illusion Barrier that Henry walked into, essentially they created an Illusion Barrier _inside_ of an already existing Illusion Barrier. Furthermore, it is an Illusion Barrier created using magic from the Enchanted Forest, _not_ from Gaia!"

The mother and son pair of Natural Ability Users let that process for a bit of time, before Henry simply remarked, "So, there is a stranger in town, or another Natural Ability User or at the least somebody who is really interested in creating zombie dimensions. We should probably find them, then, huh?"

"How do we even go looking for somebody with supernatural powers to create _Illusion Barriers_ in the first place?" Emma asked out loud.

Henry perked up and looked around and said, "[ _Observe._ ]"

Suddenly, to his eyes, screens popped up next to his three fellow occupants of the table, but no where else in the diner. He deduced that the limitations of the skill were in the Skill's title. He only got descriptions and information on targets that he himself was 'observing', so it wasn't like an omni-directional 6th sense. Although that would be a _really cool_ Skill if he could ever develop something like that!

Still, while it was there, he took the time to glance over the Blue Fairy's stats;

[Reul Ghorm]

 _The Blue Fairy_

{Mother Superior}

Level: ?

HP: ?

MP: ?

\- Also known as The Blue Star, she is the oldest living fairy of the Enchanted Forest, and as such their undisputed leader. Despite past actions and decisions, she remains true to an oath she swore long ago; to protect and safeguard the Light above all else. Due in equal parts to her experience, and the powers granted to the eldest fairy, she has some psychic talent towards premonition, but will only act to protect the Light and for no other reason.

Henry blinked, not expecting that. Also, other than that thing about some oath and that she _may_ be able to see _some_ of the future, it didn't really tell him much that he didn't already know. Well, that and he didn't know her real name was _Reul Ghorm_ , of all things!

Nevertheless, he repeated, focusing on one person at a time, and other than getting their " _names_ ", and a brief history, he didn't [observe] anything too alarming. Except, of course, for the fact that he couldn't see _anybody's_ levels or stat numbers, meaning that every single person was over twenty levels above him _at the least_! Man, he needed to level up!

"Well, from what I can see, nobody here is anything other than what we know them to be," Henry reported his findings. "Although, Ms. _Reul Ghorm_ here has a level in the triple digits. Oh, and apparently I am the lowest level person in town, because I can't see _anyone's_ levels, which means they're all twenty or more levels higher than me. Which sucks!"

"Deal with it later, Kid," Emma brushed aside his whining.

She turned back to the Blue Fairy and questioned her, "I just want to reiterate something here, you said that these… Abilities, they have to do with the thing we like the best?"

The habit-smocked brunette shook her head, and tried to better explain. "No, it isn't necessarily like that. It would be more accurate to describe it as it takes on qualities that have greatly affected the user's life in some way. For example, somebody that almost drowned as a child, their Ability may have something to do with water or ice. A person obsessed with strength, or power in general may be a telekinetic, and someone wanting to know everyone else's secrets a telepath. At the same time, it may be related to something that you don't like but has greatly affected your lives in some way or another."

"So…?" Regina dragged the word out, glancing suspiciously over towards her son. "Henry, having this… _Gamer_ Ability, means that…?"

"He's been playing _WAY_ too many video games!" Emma laughed, messing up her son's hair. "Although I'm pretty sure most of us probably thought he'd have some kind of book-related power."

"Well," Henry said. "It is actually more like I'm an RPG character, rather than just a straight up pixelated avatar. And role-playing-games were originally played out of books. But… yeah, I do play a _LOT_ of video games, come to think of it."

"And what about you, Emma?" Regina asked. "What do you believe lead to your own… Ability?"

"Easy," the blond shrugged, leaning back. "I was absolutely _obsessed_ with Harry Potter growing up. I wanted to have his powers. Because, wait for it… Harry Potter is the Chosen One, the hero of the light, and the best magic to have in those books, while not the coolest it was still the best, is Light Magic. Me having unlimited Light Magic now," she shrugged again, "It makes sense."

"Alright, this is all well and good," Regina huffed. "But how exactly does this help us with the current situation? We can't exactly line everyone in town up and have Henry _observe_ them all!"

Emma paused, a contemplative look crossing her expression. "Henry, how exactly does this… Observe Skill of yours work anyway?" she asked.

He shrugged. "I say the command, and the Skill activates," he answered. "That's its. The rest is my… Ability, I guess. Is there a way that I can… I don't know, share this?" This question was directed toward the Mother Superior.

She shook her head. "I have no way of knowing. Each Ability is entirely unique, however many… varieties exist. Some _are_ able to share their power with another, but the method is usable only to them and no others. I suppose the true question then, Henry, is what your Ability will allow you to do with it. You have said that it is as though you are a videogame character? What aspects of a video game might allow you to share your, well, your role, I suppose?"

"Well, there are some games that allow for multiplayer co-ops and…" Henry stopped talking as his mind raced with the possibilities. "The _Party_ system!" he gasped.

"Holy shit, that might just work!" Emma exclaimed.

"Language, Miss Swan!" Regina snapped. "Now… what exactly is this… party… system…?"

In reply, Emma merely shot her son a cocky look and silently indicated for him to 'go ahead' as it were. He nodded back and said out loud, "Create Party!"

 _*PING!*_

[You've created a party. What would you like to name your party?]

Henry's grin grew to be infectious. He'd also played enough 'advanced' audio-based games to know the very next words out of his mouth would be taken as the Party Name. So, after careful thought, and a casual glance at his two moms, he said aloud, "Team Mongoose!"

[Would you like 'Team Mongoose!' to be your party name?]

[YES] or [NO]

"Hahaha!" he laughed, even as he punched the 'Yes' button on the blue prompt window. "It works! Invite Party! Invite Party!" he exclaimed, focusing on Emma and then Regina for each command. To both his, _and_ their eyes, small blue windows appeared before them with a simple Yes/No question.

[Would you like to join party 'Team Mongoose!'? YES or NO]

Emma grinned as much as her son did, and instantly hit the Yes option. Regina, on the other hand, was slowly freaking out. At least as much as the Evil Queen ever freaked out about anything.

Fortunately, for both her reputation and everyone else's safety, a freaked-out-Regina merely consisted of a pale pallor, wide frightened eyes, and beads of sweat forming on her brow. She remained frozen in this state until Emma none-too-gently nudged her in the ribs. Taking a moment to shoot a glare at her long-time rival, the Mayor finally moved to accept the invitation and quickly resumed her composure.

"Well, now that that has been proven and is out of the way, how exactly does this… work, Henry?" she asked, still struggling to remain poised.

"Well," Henry replied, "Let's find out. Skills!"

Emma and Regina were the only ones to see the pink/yellow/beige window appear in front of their son, even though they couldn't see the details of it, it was clearly a part of his newly discovered powers. Reading what he needed from the provided information, Henry closed the window and then held his hand up in front of them and cast, "[ _ID Create!_ ]"

From the perspective of everyone else in the diner, the three patrons vanished in the blink of an eye. No swirling smoke, no flash of light, merely there one instant, gone the next. For Emma, Henry and Regina, it was the opposite. From the point of Henry's hand, there was an invisible wave of effect that seemed to erase every other living being from existence in its wake, save for the three of them. All sound dropped to nil, even the machinery and electricity of the machines in the kitchen dropped away. Though the lights were still on, the accompanying hum of power around them was gone, as though a snapshot of reality had been taken and made into a three-dimensional environment. And that was far from the only discrepancy.

"Whoa," Emma couldn't help commenting in the sudden silence.

"Indeed," Regina gasped, getting to her feet. "Most impressive, Henry. Can you get us back?"

"Yeah, sure," he answered easily, also getting to his feet. "But are you sure you want me to do that, Mom? We are kind of in the middle of Granny's, where we, kind of, probably, just disappeared in front of everybody."

"He's got a point," said Emma. "At the very least, let's go around back, where nobody will see us reappear, or whatever."

Nodding, Regina merely turned and lead the way out the back, forcing the two Swans to follow along behind.

"So, what exactly is this, Kid?" Emma asked as they made their way out of the diner.

In response, he could only shrug as he replied, "Exactly what Mom and Blue were saying. It's some kind of Illusion Barrier. But it's one _I_ made with my skill _ID Create_. I can only make two types though. Empty and Zombie Enemies. I blame it on the fact that we actually sat through and completed the first three Resident Evil games in one weekend."

"Yeah, well, I doubt it was that so much as somebody's obsession with a game by the name of… _Lollipop Chainsaw_? Hm?" she grinned wickedly at the back of her blushing son's head.

"What have you been exposing our son to while outside of Storybrooke, Miss Swan?" Regina snapped at the sheriff as they entered the alleyway between the diner and the Bed&Breakfast.

"Typical, _normal_ , teen life, Regina," Emma retorted. "That _was_ the whole point, wasn't it?"

Rather than allow the argument to escalate any further, Henry held up his hand and shouted, "[ _ID Escape!_ ]" And again, there was a crashing sound, as though a thousand mirrors cracking and shattering all at once, and right after the sounds of life and the world returned to them. As did the sight of Snow and David making out like a pair of hormonal teenagers right next to the exit door.

"Oh god! Mom! Dad! I don't need to see that!" Emma shouted, covering her eyes and turning away.

"Emma! Regina!" Snow shouted. "Wh-what are you doing here?"

"Henry! Hey!" David drawled, moving back, before adopting a confused expression. "Where… did you guys come from?"

"That's kind of a long story," Emma began.

"Invite Party, Invite Party," Henry said without hesitation.

"Or not…" she winced at the bluntness of her son. He got that from her, she figured.

"Ah!" Snow shrieked in surprise upon seeing the screens pop up in front of her and David. While he didn't shout, he'd instinctively moved to protect his True Love, stopping himself only after identifying that there was no actual threat.

"Uh, Henry, Emma, Regina…" David asked, "What is this?"

"Just say yes, it'll be faster," Henry answered.

"Uh, all right," David exchanged a look with his wife and they both chose Yes at the same time.

"[ _ID Create!_ ]" Henry cast before anybody could stop him. As before, the world fell away and they were all left standing there in an eerily quiet alleyway.

"Regina! Emma!" Snow snapped. "Explanation! _Now_! _Please_!"

"Henry is a Natural Ability User," she explained. "And apparently so is your daughter. Her Ability is unlimited light magic, while Henry's seem to be modeled after video games."

"Well, that is certainly to the point," David commented after a tense moment of silence.

"What is a Natural Ability User?" Snow asked.

"That was my question, we already heard the answer from Blue," Emma answered. "Suffice it to say, my… magic isn't necessarily magic so much as it is an Ability given to me by Gaia, the spirit of the earth. Henry's ability, on the other hand, is being a Gamer."

Checking his stats real quick, Henry was quick to pull his practice sword out of his Inventory, saying, "Yeah, check this out, Granpa, Granma! [ _Power Strike!_ ]" He then unleashed the active skill against a nearby, nearly-full, metal trash can. And since he was using a sword rather than a blunt object like a club or a bat, rather than smashing it to bits, the sword neatly sliced through the metal and all of its contents so it slowly slid apart before crashing to the ground as its contents spilled everywhere.

"So… Henry can do magic now…?" David questioned, confused.

"Not exactly," Regina was quick to assure them. "For one thing, his… Ability has an entirely different set of rules from those of magic. And for another… Henry and Emma may not be the only Ability users in town."

"Oh," Snow acknowledged.

"Indeed," Regina agreed.

"Do we know who this person is?" David asked.

"No, just that they like creating Illusion Barriers with zombies in them," Henry remarked.

"Illusion Barriers?" Snow inquired.

"You're standing in one," Regina pointed out. "That's what Henry just did with his… eye-dee creation or whatever. The problem with that is, _Storybrooke_ is, in essence, an Illusion Barrier of its own, so the power needed to create _another_ inside of it… well, either it is a sorcerer that makes every single Dark One from the beginning of time seem like amateur illusionists, or there is another Ability User in town. Either way, it isn't good news for us."

"Especially if they're going around creating zombie-infested worlds for people to just randomly walk into," Emma added.

"What do we do?" Snow wanted to know.

Henry shrugged and suggested, "Train?"

"For what?" David questioned.

"Well, it was only one zombie," Henry confessed, "but if I hadn't spent the whole afternoon leveling up my skills and everything, I probably wouldn't have beaten it. So, I need to level up. Fast."

"Wait, why does Henry need to level up again?" Snow wanted to know.

They quickly recapped everything that had happened and what they'd learned so far. Once Henry's grandparents understood the situation, the solution almost presented itself.

"So you need Trainers, if I'm using the term correctly, right?" David inquired.

"Uh, yeah!" Henry began to grin, liking where this was going.

"Wait a sec," Emma interrupted. "Back up a minute. When you first told me and Regina about this, Henry, you mentioned that we had given you quests? How did that work exactly?"

"Well, it seemed pretty random," he confessed. "Whenever you asked me to do stuff, like get ready for school and have breakfast, or like when we decided to talk to the Blue Fairy, and other random chore-like stuff."

"Hm," Emma tapped her chin thoughtfully.

"What are you thinking, Ms. Swan?" Regina asked.

"I'm thinking that if we've been giving Henry quests all along without meaning to, why don't we try doing it on purpose? Only instead of just asking him to do chores or clean his room or wash the dishes and stuff, we do exactly like he's suggesting? We train him up so he levels up as fast as possible."

Henry frowned, and couldn't help voicing out loud his sudden concerns, "Uh oh, I don't like where this is going."

"But members of your party can't give you quests, that's Gamer's Logic 101," Emma remarked. "So, before we test this out… Status!"

Instantly a screen appeared before the Savior, displaying her stats for all to see;

Character Name: Emma Swan

Class: _Savior of Storybrooke_

Title: _Sheriff_ (+25 percent in all interactions with Storybrooke Citizens)

Level: 75

HP: 4266

MP: (∞)

STR: 57.1 (Skill Bonuses)

VIT: 81

DEX: 73.9 (Skill Bonuses)

INT: 88

WIS: 88

LUK: 50

Points: 405

Money: $5206.36

"You were not kidding about the infinite mana, Kid," Emma whistled in awe at her own stats. "Strength could be better, but I'm clearly a magic user as it is. This is awesome!"

"Back to the point, Ms. Swan!" Regina snapped.

"Oh come on, you know you want to look at yours," the blond teased.

The brunette's fists clenched, but she glanced once at Henry and slowly released them. They were then all startled to hear a…

 _*PING!*_

[Tempting Fate By Teasing The Evil Queen. LUK Increased by 1]

"Uhh,,," Emma was at a loss as she closed the prompt, her still displayed stat screen showing the increase even as it changed.

"Hahaha!" Henry laughed. "Same thing happened to me earlier today! I remember thinking that I'm probably the only person alive that has an easy sure-fire way to grind my Luck stat! Hahaha!"

"Yes, well, be aware, the two of you," Regina dourly warned them, "Everyone's luck eventually runs out."

"It's probably why my LUK is as high as it is," Emma said. "Now, let me just check one last thing and then we can get back to reality and test my theory about us giving Henry Quests. Skills!"

Skills:

White Magic - Lvl MAX - Magic that is performed for the purposes of good or as a counter to evil. Enables user to cast Healing and Protective spells. At Max Level, spells can be cast instinctively by mere thought.

Light Magic - Lvl MAX - Opposite of Dark Magic, the Cost of using Light Magic is acts of good and selflessness. Enables user to cast Light-aligned and all neutral spells. At Max Level, spells can be cast by mere thought rather than with word and gesture as required by lower levels.

Dark Magic - Lvl 2 - Opposite of Light Magic, the Cost of using Dark Magic is acts of selfishness and corruption. Enables user to cast Dark-aligned and destructive spells. At Level 2, only low level destructive spells can be cast.

Observe - Lvl 100 - Through continuous observation, a skill to observe objects, situations, and persons was generated allowing the user to quickly gather information. The higher the skill, the great the data obtained.

Empathy - Lvl MAX - You are aware of what others are feeling and can sense what they hide as easily as what they show. Active: Can tell when someone is lying or telling the truth. Passive: Plus fifty percent chance in all interactions, plus twenty-five percent to persuade someone of opposite moral alignment, plus seventy-five percent to persuade someone of same moral alignment.

Physical Endurance - Lvl 45 - The body's durability increases, allowing for less damage taken. Passive: 44.5% less damage.

Magical Endurance - Lvl 39 - The spirit's resistance increases, allowing for less damage from mana-based attacks. Passive; 37.5% less damage.

Lockpicking - Lvl 89 - The art of Lockpicking is used to open locked doors and containers faster and with fewer broken lockpicks. Passive: Percentage Chance of success based on Skill Level.

Pickpocket - Lvl 49 - The stealthy art of picking an unsuspecting target's pockets, without them noticing. Passive: Percentage Chance of success based on Skill Level.

Swordsmanship - Lvl 15 - By using "Swordsmanship" you can wield and use any type of blade. Passive: Increase Damage with blade weapons by 7.5%

Marksmanship - Lvl 55 - By using "Marksmanship" you can wield and use any type of ranged weapon, both guns and arrows. Passive: Increase Damage with ranged weapons by 27.5%

Mixed Martial Arts - Lvl 30 - A hybrid fighting style of full contact striking and grappling styles. Passive: Skill Level based percent increase to STR and DEX Stats.

ID Escape - Lvl 1 - A skill used to escape Instant Dungeons.

ID Create - Lvl 1 - A skill used to create Instant Dungeons. Current Dungeons Available: 'Empty'

"Oh yeah, I am definitely the mage in this party," Emma whistled, more than a little impressed with her stats and skills both. " _Three_ different kinds of magic?! And it doesn't even list spells, just the magic. Then again, I don't exactly use 'spells' per se…"

"Ms. Swan!" Regina shouted, her voice echoing back at them from practically every corner of the empty town they currently resided in. "If you could please stop fawning over yourself and get to the point?"

"Yeesh, just trying to have a bit of fun with it is all," the blond grumbled, closing the open windows.

"First, let's get back to reality, if you will Henry?" she requested.

"Didn't I just see the exact same Skill in your listing there, Mom?" he slyly pointed out.

"Yes, except I probably only _got it_ from watching you using it, and then using it _on_ me," she argued back. "Which means I've got like zero-point-zero experience for it, and would only kick _me_ out. You've used it more, have more experience, and I'm pretty sure can use it on all of us. Now, do you want me to play the 'Mom Card', or do you want to get us out of this Illusion Barrier so we can start leveling you up already?"

Henry just stood there for about three-heartbeats before raising his hand and calling out, "[ _ID Escape!_ ]"

Shortly after, they were all standing there in the alley behind Granny's, in the real world.

"Now," Regina spoke first, "what is your… idea, Ms. Swan?"

"Lighten up, would ya?" Emma complained. "First, a simple test, and so we don't have to re-join the party later, I'll go ahead and do it now. Henry, I need you to run over to your grandparents' apartment and get my blue and white jacket for me."

They all looked at her incredulously for several long seconds, during which nothing seemed to be happening. Finally, Henry shrugged and asked, "OK, but why do you need that?"

"Huh," she grunted. "Looks like I was right. OK, I want to leave the party!"

Suddenly, the moment the last syllable left her lips, everyone else got an Alert window telling them that Emma had left the Party. Windows that Emma herself could no longer see. Upon witnessing them all close 'invisible' screens, she confirmed it by asking, "Did it work? Skills! Stats! OK, it worked."

Getting frustrated, Regina asked, "So what now? And aren't you the one that was so gung-ho about doing all of this? Why then are you so keen on getting rid of it?"

"Geez, have a little patience why don't you?" Emma shook her head. "Henry, I need you to run over to your grandparents' apartment and get my blue and white jacket for me."

She couldn't see or hear anything, but judging by the way everyone else in the alleyway jumped, it was clear that something had happened.

"What… what is this?" Snow asked, curious and a bit unnerved.

"Guys, did it work? What happened?" Emma wanted to know.

"We've _all_ gotten a Quest Alert," Regina answered. "And it is, almost verbatim, what you just asked Henry to do, followed by a 'Do You Accept?' question and the yes/no buttons."

"Henry, hit 'No' for right now," Emma instructed him. "No consequences, I'm just testing it out."

"Are you sure?" he asked, concerned. "I've never actually declined a quest yet."

"I've got something better in mind, don't worry," she assured him. "Besides, the only quests you've gotten so far, or so you said, was us, your parents and other authority figures, asking you to do chore-type stuff, and if you'd said no, we might have punished you, or asked you what was going on. You don't have to worry about that happening in this case."

"OK, if you say so," he shrugged, and hit the 'No' option, and the Quest Alert vanished with nothing else happening, but at the same time, no experience being awarded either.

"If that is enough experimenting for one evening, perhaps we should take this indoors?" Regina suggested.

"Yeah, good idea," Emma nodded. "Go ahead and dissolve the Party, Henry. Mom, Dad, it's pretty late and we should be letting you get back to your, uh… date, or whatever."

"Yeah," David agreed, taking Snow in his arms. "But, let's meet up tomorrow, at the office. Fill us in on everything, and maybe we can make a plan about what to do with all this. Until then, good night Regina, night Henry. Emma, I love you, good night."

"Good night, Henry," Snow said her own farewells, "Good night Emma, I love you too. Good night Regina."

"Ms. Blanchard, Charming," Regina coolly nodded to the couple.

Farewells said, they walked off, leaving the Swan-Mills family standing there alone in the dark alley.

"Fast way?" Emma asked, eyes hopeful and pointed at Regina.

Rolling her eyes, the brunette gave a suffering sigh before raising her hand in magical gesture, even as she said, "Oh very well." All three were covered in purple swirls of smoke and vanished without a trace.

The next morning, Operation: Gamer began in earnest. Now that they were all aware of his Ability, and knew what he wanted to do with it—not to mention the fact that he needed to be as strong and as skilled as possible to prepare him for whatever was coming—it was surprisingly simple to give him 'Quests' that would actually allow him worthwhile experience, rather than forcing him to go out and find/fight monsters in order to Level Up. There was also a small feature that Regina had discovered quite by accident, but something they all quickly took advantage of.

"All right, Henry," she said, ignoring his eyes shift as no doubt a new Quest Alert had appeared before his eyes, "I want you to finish all of your homework and study each of your subjects so that you are at least a week ahead of the rest of your classmates. If you finish before Emma gets back from meeting with the others, then I'll have something special for you. Either way, I want you fully prepared, so I'll be quizzing you later on to make sure you've retained everything. All right?"

Henry blinked and stared, his jaw dropping just a bit.

"What is it Kid?" Emma asked, curious.

Shaking himself, Henry reached out and 'accepted' the Quest, before saying, "Sure thing Mom, I'll get started right away."

"Henry," his blond mother stopped him, "What is it?"

"Uhm… well, apparently… if I do actually finish studying in time, enough to gain a point to my INT according to the screen-thing, I'll be rewarded with a new Skill. So… bye, I gotta study!" he said in a rush before racing to get his school books.

Emma and Regina stared after him, before the Sheriff turned to the Mayor and quietly asked the older woman, "What exactly were you planning on giving him as 'something special', Regina?"

"Honestly, I have no idea," the wide-eyed brunette confessed. "I was just planning on having him help me make dinner."

Emma blinked, once, twice, and then a rapid-fire blinking as the implications ran through her mind. "You mean, you were going to show him how to Cook?" They both could hear the capital letter she put on the word, and the meaning behind it.

"Hm," Regina considered. "Yes, that would be a Skill he doesn't have yet, wouldn't it?"

"Not to mention it could be considered an off-shoot of a _Crafting_ Skill," Emma pointed out. "And like, ninety-nine percent of all RPG games, which Henry's Ability seems to be based on, are practically centered around crafting one's own equipment. OK, before I go, and I'll make sure that I'm back late to give him enough time for everything, one last thing to ask; do we tell Gold about this? If not Henry and mine's status, then about the zombie-illusion-barrier thing?"

"No, absolutely not, to all of the above," Regina stressed. "If he had any inkling of Henry's potential… well, you saw what he did to me?"

"Right, Gold stays in the dark, got it," Emma agreed. "Oh, anything I should bring back with me?"

"Some lettuce for the salad for dinner, and any other vegetables or toppings you might want with it," she replied, already moving to take care of her own chores for the day.

"Will do," Emma called out behind her, already out the door.

Of course, that was just the tip of the iceberg for Henry and his family. As luck would have it, Henry's encounter with the zombie and revealing his Ability happened on a Friday night, which meant that they had the whole weekend to level up their little Gamer as much as possible. Saturday morning, he spent most of the day studying and getting various Quests from Regina and Emma both, getting whole new Skills as rewards for each one as they turned around and had him help with some other chore, like getting dinner ready or playing with some art clay, granting him the Cooking and Crafting skills respectively. Saturday afternoon, however, they met with his maternal (on Emma's side) grandparents, and things got a bit more interesting.

David had him exercising and running all over the place, which in turn boosted his STR and VIT and even DEX for some of the exercises. Then he turned around and taught him the Dodge Skill, the very same one he'd been trying to create when he accidentally came up with Fool's Act instead! He ended his session with David by having a one-on-one practice bout with the more experienced Prince Charming, which in turn allowed him to level up his Swordsmanship, Dodge, and other fighting Skills! To say nothing of his Physical Endurance skill!

After sword practice was over, despite everyone's expectations for him to be exhausted, Henry was still full of energy and good to go, so he spent the rest of the evening doing a number of simple Quests for Snow White, most of it to help her with her lessons at school come Monday, but she also promised to teach him a new skill if he completed one quest in particular, which strangely enough was to use his newly-discovered Craft Skill to craft himself a selection of arrows from the raw materials she provided, as well as a sturdy bow once his Skill Level was high enough. Upon completion, and amazingly enough it only took him a couple hours, at most, to have nearly fifty arrows and what his Observe called "Beginner's Bow +1". Following that, she then proceeded to teach him a new Skill; "Archery".

After seeing the Marksmanship Skill in Emma's Skill List, most everyone expected Henry's own to be the same, but apparently what Snow and her daughter knew about ranged weapons differed enough that it was considered different Skills entirely. That, interestingly enough, was easily fixed by Emma turning right around and giving him a half-hour long lecture on gun safety and maintenance, and had him disassemble and clean her gun ten times over, before having him do the same (as a Quest, of course) with all of the weapons in the Sheriff weapons locker at the station. She then, with Regina's approval and presence, taught him the Marksmanship Skill as reward for the Quests.

In all cases, he began as a pretty poor student, barely able to hold anything right or shoot the targets or do any of it correctly. But, as he gained experience, he learned and soon demonstrated his rapid skill with each Skill Level he gained. By the time he was Level 5 of any Skill, Emma and David and all of them really declared that he was demonstrating skill that someone with a few weeks experience would display. By Level 10, he showed them the skill of someone with _months_ of experience, and while he wasn't at Level 20 with any of his Active Skills yet, they had little doubt that he would soon be phenomenal in any or all of his high level Skills.

Sunday was a whole new day.

Which started even earlier as apparently everyone took to heart Henry's explanation of one of his Max Skills in particular; Gamer's Body. Meaning that so long as he had HP, physically he would be fine no matter how long they worked him over, or how injured he might 'normally' get in training. Things like muscle strain would actually add experience to his Physical Endurance skill, if it even affected him at all!

Therefore, Emma woke Henry up bright and early and brought him along on her morning jog around town. Of course, _that_ was just his mother bringing him along. The _Quest_ she had him doing was to use his Observe Skill and identify anything out of the ordinary, as well as report back to her—after the run—on all the people he Observed, their Level, Titles, as much information as he could give. After all that was done, they ran back to the Mayor's Home and sat down for breakfast, where Emma then quizzed Henry on everything he'd Observed and reported to her. Which lead to one very pertinent question on his part.

"Mom," he said as they sat there, digesting their finished breakfast.

"Yeah Kid?" Emma replied.

"When I accepted the Quest during our run, which was great, it got me another point each in DEX and VIT, but it said that part of the Reward would be another new Skill… but all we've done is eat breakfast?"

"You want to know where your new skill prompt is, huh?" she asked, giving him a teasing grin.

Regina slapped the blond sheriff on the arm as she passed, collecting their empty plates.

What followed was yet another, more intense quiz session, where she had him recount everything he'd already reported to her, and then rephrase it. In other words, she wanted him to explain everything _about_ what he'd Observed, just leaving out all the Gamer-terminology, and maybe even explain to her why something was what it was. After going through it all a third time, Henry finally got that Skill Prompt he'd been waiting for.

 _*PING!*_

[A Special Skill Has Been Created Through A Special Act. Through continuous analysis, a skill to examine and elucidate a target's data, "Deduce" has been created. By using "Deduce", you can better predict a target's actions and reveal previously hidden information. Passive: Level Percentage increase to INT & WIS & LUK]

"Holy…" Henry gasped, jaw dropping, eyes, popping, the whole shebang.

"Henry, language!" his mother admonished him. He was too much in shock to pay attention to which one at the moment.

"So…" Emma, the mother sitting right in front of him, spoke, "Something good then?"

Swallowing to ease his suddenly dry throat, he recited the description to them, word for word. Their own eyes went appropriately wide as the implications hit them.

"I think we just hit upon your very own _Cheat Skill_ , Kid," Emma remarked with a growing smirk.

"Cheat skill?" Regina repeated as a question.

"Sometimes called a hack, or mod, or most commonly a cheat code," she clarified. "Some way of getting ahead in the game, or at least gaining an edge that other players may not have. Use the Skill now, Kid. Let's see what actually happens. It _sounds_ impressive, but recall that Observe is nothing more than getting a stat sheet and a brief bio."

Nodding his head, Henry focused on the Sheriff and gave the verbal command, "[ _Deduce_ ]!"

He was suddenly bombarded with all sorts of screens, not all of which he could immediately make sense of. Also, Emma seemed—to his eyes anyway—to be covered with some kind of overlay, highlighting key points on her body, some of them obviously Vital Spots, which if targeted could result in a Critical, while other areas seemed… different somehow.

"Uh, wow," he shook his head and closed his eyes, terminating the Skill use. "That is… a lot of information for a Level 1 skill. That is gonna take some getting used to, I think."

"What? What is it?" Emma wanted to know.

"I'm… not really sure on all of it," he admitted. "If I had to compare it to anything… it's like some kind of uber combination of Targeting from _Fallout_ , the Social Augment from _Deus Ex: Human Revolution_ , the Pickpocket and Looting options from _Elder Scrolls_ , Eagle Vision from _Assasin's Creed_ , Detective Vision from _Batman: Arkham Asylum_ , Ironman's HUD, and Observe all at once. I can see your, uh, Equipment, Inventory, stats, vital areas for Crit Attacks, pulse, respiration, brainwave patterns, dialog options, and… almost half a dozen more things that I don't even know how to describe!"

"So, yeah, Cheat Skill," she declared. "You're welcome!"

"Saying thank you seems… insufficient for something like this," Henry said, still a bit in awe.

"Yeah, well, next up is leveling all your skills up, which means working you to the bone today," she said. "What is up next, Regina?"

"As much as it pains me to suggest it," the Mayor responded, "I'm sure that you've noticed as well as I have that in spite of the _many_ Quests that we've been giving our Gamer here, he's only Leveled up _once_! When he should have leveled up over a dozen times by now! As great as granting him new skills and increasing their effectiveness is, and even with all the various methods we have of increasing his 'stats', everyone agrees that he'll only truly get stronger by increasing his Level, correct?"

"Um, yeah," the Sheriff acknowledged with a shrug.

"Henry, you told us that you got more experience from defeating an 'Enemy', like that zombie, than you got for any Quest. Does that still hold true?" she questioned.

Squirming a bit, he was forced to nod his head yes.

"Then our course of action is clear," the reformed Evil Queen declared. "We're forming a Party and going monster hunting. One of those Illusion Barriers that you both can now create is a 'Zombie dungeon', correct? Well then, when we go to meet up with your mother and father later on, Emma, we will then use the Party System and go with Henry into an Illusion Barrier of his making, and what was the term you used before? Ah, yes, do some… _grinding_ , I believe?"

"It sounds so wrong when you say it," Emma shook her head, staring at her longtime rival.

"Fine, yes, it is a good idea, and quite frankly I was running out of ideas on what else we could do. Plus, there doesn't really seem to be an upper limit on Henry's version of the Party System, so I'll invite Hook along. You can go and ask Robin if he or any of his guys want to come along. Speaking of, we should probably get the two of them to try and teach you, or give you a few pointers in the Skills you already have. They might be able to give you some free Skill Levels or something."

"Sounds like a plan," Henry grinned, all too excited about the coming afternoon.

Making what happened all the more terrible…

END Level Two

Character Stats:

Name: [Henry Mills]

Class: _The Gamer_

Level: 7

HP: 555.5

MP: 328.25

STR: 11

VIT: 10

DEX: 9.44

INT: 12.01

WIS: 9.01

LUK: 5.01

Point: 35

Money: $98.46

Skills:

Gamer's Mind - Lvl MAX - Allows user to calmly and logically think things through. Allows peaceful state of mind. Immunity to psychological status effects.

Gamer's Body - Lvl MAX - Grants a body that allows for the user to live the real world like a game. Sleeping in a bed restores HP, MP and all status effects.

Believer's Heart - Lvl MAX - Bearing the Heart of the Truest Believer is a heavy burden, especially when no one else believes. Your belief in the Truth is unwavering and absolutely nothing can corrupt your spirit. Passive: Immune to corrupting influences and manipulations. Active : (percentage) chance based on current level to convince another to switch to your moral alignment. (Current: 0.7% chance)

Observe - Lvl 24 - Through continuous observation, a skill to observe objects, situations, and persons was generated allowing the user to quickly gather information. The higher the skill, the great the data obtained.

Physical Endurance - Lvl 25 - The body's durability increases, allowing for less damage taken. 26.5% less damage

Swordsmanship - Lvl 18 - By using "Swordsmanship" you can wield and use any type of blade. Passive: Increase Damage with blade weapons by 9.0%

Fool's Act - Lvl 3 - Words and actions that make the enemy doubt the mental state of the user. It could possibly confuse the target. Effect: Has a 3% chance to confuse the target for 6 seconds.

Power Strike - Lvl 15 - A skill that allows the user to strike the target with a strong force. (Active) 85% increase in Critical Rate. 400% increase in Attack Damage.

Power Block - Lvl 12 - A skill that allows the user to defend against a targeted attack. (Passive) 6.0% increase to Defense. (Active) 60% Chance to Successfully Block targeted attack. Block 75% of damage upon success.

ID Escape - Lvl 5 - A skill used to escape Instant Dungeons.

ID Create - Lvl 5 - A skill used to create Instant Dungeons. Current Dungeons Available: 'Empty', 'Enemy: Zombie', 'Enemy: Ghost'.

Cooking - Lvl 15 - A skill to make food and Healing Items. Humanity has advanced society through creating new foodstuffs. Food and Healing Items become better as mastery level rises. Recipes: 101

Crafting - Lvl 15 - A skill to make something. Humanity has advanced their civilization through inventing things. Crafted objects become better as mastery levels rises. Registered blueprint: 9

Dodge - Lvl 18 - A skill that allows the user to avoid a targeted attack. (Passive) 18% increase to DEX. (Active) 36 percent chance to successfully dodge attack.

Archery - Lvl 15 - Allows user to freely handle bows. 80% increase in attack damage with bows and arrows.

Marksmanship - Lvl 5 - By using "Marksmanship" you can wield and use any type of ranged weapon, both guns and arrows. Passive: Increase Damage with ranged weapons by 2.5%

Deduce - Lvl 1 - By using "Deduce", you can better predict a target's actions and reveal previously hidden information. Active: Higher the Level, more accurate the data displayed. Passive: Level Percentage increase to INT & WIS & LUK


End file.
